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Photo credit: http://www.aljazeera.com

An estimated 3,700 people were still trapped in Marawi, a municipality of 201,785 people in Lanao del Sur Province in Mindanao, on Thursday as clashes between government forces and members of the Abu Sayyaf and Maute group continued in the Islamic city, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is working to ensure their safe evacuation.

In Manila, ICRC Philippine delegation head Pascal Porchet told the Inquirer that the humanitarian aid group has been able to communicate with members and persons “close to” and “directly involved” with the Islamic State-linked fighters and the Philippine military, requesting safe passage for those still trapped in Marawi. “But the most important thing is, we are here to work hand in hand with the parties involved to ensure the safety and well-being of the people,” Porchet said. “We just hope the civilians will be able to flee safely, and will soon be rescued.”

As the violent clashes on 23rd May erupted, residents of Marawi soon evacuated in large groups to safe zones in surrounding areas, including Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental. Strict checkpoints by both Maute groups and government forces, long traffic lines and lost documentation has slowed the evacuation.

The fighting has made it difficult to reach areas where civilians had sought refuge but the ICRC said it was able to rescue 500 civilians following dialogues with those involved in the fighting, which left large patches of the city in ruins. “We are extremely concerned about the impact of the hostilities on the civilians. Our priority is to address the humanitarian needs of the affected people,” the ICRC said in a report. “We are seriously concerned about reports of civilians who were killed or deliberately targeted, or being held against their will. Civilians are not part of the fighting; they should be protected.”

Only 30,645 individuals or 6,129 families have taken shelter in evacuation centers in nearby cities such as Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and as far away as Davao City. Majority of the displaced have sought refuge in homes of relatives.

The latest information from OCHA and ARRM-Heart on 30th May indicate that estimated 90% of the population of Marawi City has been affected. Marawi residents have left the city without necessities, such as extra clothes, livelihood assets or basic hygiene items. It appears that the Christian community (who represent less than 20% in Marawi) has been particularly targeted by the Maute group.  Around 20 Christian civilians were killed when they tried to escape Marawi city at a Maute check point.

Unicef Philippines has called on involved parties in the Marawi conflict to ensure the safety and protection of children affected by the ongoing fighting there. Unicef estimates around 50,000 children have been affected by the conflict by being displaced within Marawi or to other cities in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte; unable to return to their homes; or are in dire need of basic health and sanitation facilities. “We are deeply concerned about actions that may put children’s life and safety at risk and disrupts their overall development or access to basic social services such as education and health care. The estimated tens of thousands of children who, along with their families, have been displaced in and out of Marawi, could face severe long-term impact on their psycho-social health, their physical health as well as having their education disrupted,” warned Unicef Philippines Representative Lotta Sylwander.

As violence continues in Marawi City, there is uncertainty around when the displaced people will be able to return home, placing a serious strain on the resources and facilities available in evacuation centres (ECs) and on the capacity of the local government to accommodate the large influx of IDPs, particularly if the conflict intensifies further or expands.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who declared martial law on Mindanao Island, has approved the creation of a “peace corridor” to hasten the rescue of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid for displaced people, said presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella.

He said the corridor will be implemented by the government and the main separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has signed a peace agreement in exchange for Muslim autonomy in Mindanao, the southern third of the Philippines.

Community World Service Asia Response: Community World Service is in contact with local partners in Philippines on updated information on the ongoing conflict. It is closely monitoring and will devise its response plan accordingly.

Contacts:

Emmeline Managbang
Deputy Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: mae.manags@communityworldservice.asia
Ph +93 78 635 0703 / +63 908 102 1016

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Ph: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/mindanao-churchgoers-hostage-marawi-siege-170524085829461.html
Start Network Alert – https://startnetwork.org
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/901709/marawi-conflict-unicef-calls-for-efforts-to-keep-children-safe-protected
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/901862/3700-still-trapped-in-marawi-city
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/06/01/1705747/civilians-seek-food-water-marawi-clash-continues

 

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A walk was commenced to observe Health Day at Rural Health Center, Hyderfarm.

Community World Service Asia is provides medical care with a focus on maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) through supporting three Rural Health Centers (RHC) in Umerkot since 2015. These health centres provide healthcare to the most vulnerable communities affected by recurrent natural disasters, disease and poverty. The primary aim is to provide medical care through curative and preventive services while adopting a community-based approach by ensuring participation of village health committees and government health department.

The MNCH team organized World Health Day on 7th April at the RHCs in Umerkot in participation of a large number of community members from catchment area, government health staff of each RHC and professionals from NGOs and Civil Society Organizations. The main focus of the day was the topic of “Depression” which was the universal theme of this international day globally. Attention was also given to other more common health issues in the area such as heatstroke, diarrhea and anemia.

Depression is one of the many results of poor health, poverty, economic and social injustices and power imbalance prevalent in the rural society. The main purpose of celebrating this day was to raise common public awareness on various health issues and to sensitize the community and paramedic staff on mitigating the health problems common in the community through self-care and knowledge building.

Topics discussed on World Health Day in Umerkot:


  • To increase public awareness regarding various causes and preventive measures of depression

     


  • To provide detail knowledge of getting prevented from various diseases including diarrhea and missiles.

  • To encourage most vulnerable groups of people to frequently and regularly checkup the women during pregnancy in MNCH Centers.

  • To promote self-care among people of rural area.

  • To motivate the paramedic staff to make their efforts in providing health facility to vulnerable community of the catchment area of all three RHCs.

Medical Superintendents (MSs) of each health facility, health committee representatives, community activists and project staff gave orientations to the community members including men, women and children, on the major causes, prevention and mitigation of depression, heatstrokes and diarrhea. They imparted key messages on good health that aimed to enable men, women and children to lead healthy and productive lives and continue being of valuable existence in lives of their families and communities.

Rural healthcare lags in quality, affordability, and accessibility for several reasons. The main problem faced by health authorities in this regard is lack of awareness. One of the major reasons for such a deplorable state of health in these areas is the lack of health facilities. The establishment of health centers is ensuring better health and is supporting an improved standard of living for the people of rural Sindh.

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Photo credit: Dawn News

At least five hundred mud houses were destroyed when a fire broke out on the afternoon of May 10th, in village Vakrio near Islamkot town in Tharparkar district. The reported fire broke out due to a short circuit and immediately engulfed a thatched house in the village Vakrio. Due to strong winds, the fire spread to more than 500 thatched and cemented houses, reducing them all to ashes and rubble within minutes.

Luckily, at that time that the fire erupted, village residents were out working in the fields, saving them from the ravenous fire. Seven people from the village have however been reported injured. Most of the village livestock was also grazing in the fields at that time of the day, yet around 100 cattle have reported been killed in the fire.

Vakrio residents ran out their houses to save their lives, but did not have ample time to save their livestock or their belongings. All their ornaments, clothes, crockery, seeds stocks for next cultivation, stocks of fodder, food, were all burnt to ashes in front of their eyes.

The village residents all tried their best to extinguish the fire together by throwing barrels of water and sand on the blazing fire, but despite their efforts, they were not able to save the hundreds of homes. Only two hundred houses in the entire village were unharmed from the fire.

This is  the tenth such incident this year, on an average around three houses have been burned in each incident, but there has been no immediate solution to this recurring tragedy.

The people of Vakrio spent the night in the open land and appealed to relevant authorities and welfare departments to help them rebuild their houses and rehabilitate back to their usual life.

Emergency shelter kits, food package and nonfood items such as cooking utensils to cook their food are immediate requirements of the affected communities.

Community World Service Asia Response: Community World Service is in contact with local partners in the area on the updated information of the tragic event. It is closely monitoring and will devise its response plan accordingly.

Contacts:
Felix Dennis Joseph
Associate Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: dennis.joseph@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 300 8557414

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Ph: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources: www.dawn.com

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Hasan of village Fazal Wadho, participant, expressed, “We were wasting valuable natural resources, but now I will utilize these resources for sustainable agriculture practices.”

An exposure visit of sixty farmers from Badin, Sindh, to the Central Cotton Research Institute, Agriculture Training Institute and Wheat Research Institute was conducted and facilitated in Sakrand last week of March under the Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Farming project supported by Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB).

Mr. Muhammad Yousaf Channa, coordinator and senior Instructor for the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) unit at Agriculture Training Institute in Sakrand, facilitated the visit along with Community World Service Asia staff. The participants were welcomed by Dr. Abdul Waris Sanjrani, Director,Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI).

The CCRI is engaged in multidisciplinary researches conducted in the field of Agronomy, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cytogenetics, Entomology, Plant Pathology, Plant Physiology and a newly established section, Transfer of Technology. Since its inception, the Institute has successfully evolved considerable number of high yielding cotton varieties at required fiber qualities. Abdullah Keerio and Saira Bano, Scientific officers at the Institute, introduced production technology to the participants. Shah Nawaz Khoro, Senior Scientific Officer, explained Cotton Insect pests. A documentary was also screened showing the cotton production technology.

Abdul Wahab Soomro and Vishandas Suthar, also Scientific officers at the Institute, facilitated the participants through their visit of the greenhouse placed with parental genes of cotton plants imported from various countries for development of further progenies. The Glass house was another visiting site in the location where cotton cultivars were planted in winter in controlled environments to save the time required for evaluation of new variety. The participants were amazed to visit the Cold Room where decades old cotton seeds are preserved.

At the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), the group of visiting farmers was welcomed by Dr. Ghulam Mustafa Jamali, Principal of the Institute (ATI). The farmers were briefed about the integrated crop and pest management process and systems by the coordinator at ATI and experienced new procedures of organic backyard gardening, compost making, optimum use of available waste resources for more productive plantation and innovative methods to measure soil moisture. At the Wheat Research Institute, Dr. Kareem Bux Lagari, briefed the participants regarding the varieties of wheat grown in experimental fields and demonstrated how different strains and wheat are developed. The farmers then visited the demonstration field where production technologies were functioning and lastly to the Wheat Museum where a large variety of wheat was on display.

The Sindhi farming community is very apprehensive about the current cropping season. They are looking for best suitable crop varieties in accordance to the soil composition and the changing climate. Previously they use to purchase any variety of plant to yield but these exposure visits have made the farmers more aware about seed selection and crop management as per changing seasons. Moreover, the farmers are now planning to use waste material for crop and vegetable production. One of the participant has already started making compost from the waste material and is planning to go for ridge sowing in the following wheat season to collect a good yield.

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The people of Sindh are likely to experience another wave of extreme heat for the third consecutive year – albeit 2 months earlier than in previous years –  as the mercury surged to unseasonably high temperatures on Monday, April 10, 2017.

The Met Office reported that Karachi would experience hot to very hot weather on Tuesday (today) and the maximum temperature would range at 42°C, with humidity, and a “real feel” averaging in at 44°C.    In view of the forecast, the mayor of Karachi announced setting up 12 centers in the city’s hospitals for heatstroke patients and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) is spearheading contingency plans across Sindh.

In other parts of the province, Sukkur, at 46°C, as well as Hyderabad and Nawabshah at 45°C are recorded among the hottest places in Sindh today.   Government officials fear that the coming three days would be highly critical and have ordered all hospitals across the province to be on high alert.

Weather forecasts for the coming 10 days indicate that temperatures are expected to soar even higher. In districts Tharparkar and Umerkot of Sindh, expected temperatures will be 44-45°C from the 12th through the 16th, accelerating to 47°C from the 17th through the 19th. Temperatures in Shaheed Benazirabad District (formerly Nawabshah) are predicted to increase to 45- 46°C from the 11th through the 14th, rising to 46 – 47°C from 15th through the 19th. Temperatures are predicted to begin to decrease steadily from the 20th through the rest of April.

When the human body’s core temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius it becomes very difficult for the body to cool itself.  This can lead to heat exhaustion, heat stroke — and often even death.   Young children, the elderly, persons with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and, persons working outdoors are particularly vulnerable to heatstroke.  Women are more susceptible than men, and the obese are also more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.   Contrary to popular belief, electric fans are more harmful than do good during periods of extreme heat, as blowing hot air decreases the body’s ability to cool itself.

A severe heat wave with temperatures as high as 49 °C (120 °F) struck southern Pakistan in June 2015, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,000 people from dehydration and heat stroke, mostly in Sindh province and its capital city, Karachi.  The heatwave also struck the same region in 2016; however, due to good coordination and anticipatory response, mitigation measures and awareness raising campaigns, few human lives were lost.

Community World Service Asia Response:

Community World Service is closely monitoring the situation through close contact with the local authorities and will react accordingly. Community World Service Asia provided preventive and curative support to people affected or at-risk of the heatwaves in 2015 and 2016.

Contacts:

Karen Janjua
Senior Program Advisor
Regional Programs and Resource Mobilization
Email: karen.janjua@communityworldservice.asia
Tel: +92 51 230 7484

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Tel: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources:
www.tribune.com.pk
www.dawn.com
www.accuweather.com/en/pk/pakistan-weather

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Health & Hygiene session in the catchment area of RHC Dhoronaro.

According to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS), 2012-13, maternal and child death remains a major concern in Pakistan. In the provincial public sector, health services are provided through a tiered referral system of health care facilities; with increasing levels of complexity and coverage from primary, to secondary and tertiary health services. Primary care facilities include Basic Health Units (BHUs), Rural Health Centres (RHCs), Government Rural Dispensaries (GRDs), Mother and Child Health (MCH) Centres and TB centres. Most of these public health facilities lack the provision of a broader range of preventive and curative health services.

Community World Service Asia conducted a baseline survey in first year (2015) of its health project inception in Umerkot and these are the major findings of the study:

  • Very few, small private clinics operational in some villages of the targeted Union Councils. These clinics are not affordable for most of the community members (selected in the sample size) as they have low monthly incomes, with an average of only PKR 8733
  • According to 91.7% of the respondents, there are no antenatal services. 99% of respondents replied that there are no postnatal services. 5% reported the absence of delivery services whereas 96.1% reported the absence of family planning services
  • 100% of respondents replied that there are no women medical officers available at the health facility, whereas, 76.5 % reported the absence of Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) in the health facility. A 99.5% and 81.4% responded positively to the presence of male doctors and Medical Technician (MT) respectively
  • 5% respondents raised the need for a presence of medical staff to improve health services in the area
  • 8% respondents raised the need for provision of essential medicines, whereas 37% believed that the provision of 24 hours emergency services were essential to improve the quality of services
  • 2% of the respondents believed better infrastructure and cleanliness of health facilities were key to further improving the overall health services of the area

What is the project doing?

After analysing the results of the baseline survey, three Rural Health Centres (RHCs) were set up by Community World Service Asia, with the support of Act for Peace. All three of these RHCs are functioning with a focus on delivering primary healthcare services in the district of Umerkot.

The health facilities established, have deployed Female Medical Officers (FMOs), LHVs and Medical Technicians in their centres at Hyderfarm and Nabisar Road along with providing medicines. In RHC Dhoronaro, a lady doctor sits in shifts and rotationally visits the centre as well.

The social mobilizers, under the project, have formed two Health Committees in addition to the existing six committees formed last year. An advocacy forum has also been developed at district level to address emerging health issues. The village Health Committees and advocacy forum consists of eight to ten members including both men and women activists from the community, who are responsible to facilitate and support health services provided under the project. The village Health Committees meet monthly, with facilitation of the community mobilizers, and share their committees’ progress, problems and challenges and plan for the next month. A total of eight village Health Committees and a district health advocacy forum are running actively and meet regularly at the health facility. They conduct joint meetings in the villages on a fortnightly or monthly basis to discuss the pertaining issues regarding health and other community based problems. These meetings are properly documented and shared with the project management team. The discussions of these meetings are recorded for further planning, improvement and implementation of the project activities.

Clinical support is also given at these curative and preventive RHCs with focus to Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) services. These services are delivered by women health staff comprising of FMOs and LHVs along with two medical technicians and one male and one female social mobilizers. The main focus of the services is on reproductive health of women of childbearing age.

Recognizing maternal, neonatal and child health care as a major component of the health services, the project team provides antenatal and postnatal assistance to local women.  Complicated cases are referred to the secondary level health care facilities in the area. The MNCH services at the RHC focus on continuum of care including family planning, pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, labour and childbirth, postpartum, newborn care, and child health and support high-impact, evidence-based interventions that saves lives.

Health education sessions are being conducted for men, women and children at the health facilities, in the surrounding villages of each RHC and at schools. Major topics on health education, such as Personal Hygiene, Family Planning, Reproductive Health, Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS awareness, Importance of Breastfeeding and Safe Drinking Water, with emphasis to prevalence of the disease, have been included in the IEC materials developed for building the knowledge of the communities.  Through general OPD, patients are treated and facilitated along with being provided necessary medicines.

The project team assessed the nutritional status of women and children under five, of all the three RHCs, through analysing their medical history, physical examination, and height to weight balance and various other parameters. The patients are then referred accordingly to different NGOs, providing nutritional care, based in the district. More complicated cases are referred to District Headquarter Hospitals of Umerkot and Mirpurkhas. Counselling sessions to malnourished, lactating and pregnant women are also provided. Children under the age of five are facilitated with de-worming medicines and family planning services are being provided to women by LHVs across the three healthcare facilities. The LHVs brief the women from these communities on the importance and benefits of family planning and the various, free of cost methods available for family planning at the health facilities.

What have we achieved so far?

The availability of services such as primary care, behavioural health, emergency, and public health services are a basic human right which must be provided to all. The project has worked towards providing this basic right and has achieved the following so far:

  • 12,156 community members provided with curative and preventive healthcare services
  • 11,307 individual have participated in health education sessions
  • 2,414 women provided with antenatal and postnatal services
  • 868 individuals have availed family planning services
  • 5,426 women and children were assessed for nutritional balance
  • 42 baby deliveries conducted at the health facilities
  • 25 delivery kits were provided to women as per criteria
  • Participation in seven coordination meetings with line departments, other NGOs and civil society organizations working at district level.

Community World Service Asia is implementing the project through its own staff, including two lady doctors, three LHVs, two Medical Technicians, two community mobilizers and a manager located in Umerkot. They are implementing the project with equally involving the Health Committees and District Advocacy Forum. The health team continues to maintain regular dialogue with the government line departments at the Federal, Provincial and District levels to ensure the efficacy and implementation of the program. Regular coordination meetings are held between key, district stakeholders including NGOs and civil society organizations.

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Aqlan, a thirty-two year old mother of five school going children financially supports her family, including her husband and brother-in-law. Her main source of income is earned through agricultural fieldwork and livestock management.

“Badin district is situated at the tail end of canal irrigation system. Therefore, the agriculture fields are faced by severe water scarcity. The land has low productivity due to unfertile soil and lack of water. We have to depend on livestock rearing to supplement family earning,”

an exhausted Aqlan explains.

Nominated as a kitchen gardening training participant of a disaster response project in Badin, Aqsa received vegetable seeds for home-growing at her home yard in her village, Mohammad Abbas Thebo.

“Puran Nadi, a natural flow of River Indus, not only irrigates thousands of acres of land but also provides drinking water to the surrounding communities. Sadly, the disposal of chemical waste in the river has not only made the water undrinkable but unusable for irrigation as well. The contaminated water is gradually devouring the fertile soil land as well. After receiving the kitchen gardening training and vegetable seeds, I decided to prepare a patch of land for sowing the seeds to produce fresh vegetables, with the support of my family.”

As a result, Aqlan’s family grew garden-fresh vegetables on a daily basis, improving the quality and quantity of their food consumption.

“Kitchen gardening enhanced my family’s food diversification as it helps me to grow different kinds of vegetables seasonally. Our expense on purchasing vegetables from market has decreased exceptionally. I have also generated revenue of PKR5000 by selling the surplus in the nearby market.”

Aqsa revealed that she also bought a male goat from her savings which will benefit her family in the long run.

“We are planning to sell the goat on the festive of Eid for a good price of PKR25000. I am so pleased that I have been given a chance to do something meaningful in my life for my family’s support and care.”

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Deputy Director, National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIW) visiting stall of Arche Nova.

Community World Service Asia organized a two days farmer festival in two union councils of Khairpur Gambo and Pangrio of in district Badin of Sindh under its “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture practices” project for vulnerable and marginalized farmers. The festival which aimed at highlighting local agriculture based issues with line departments and sharing project learnings with other stakeholders, was held at two venues; one at Babar Kaloion village and the other at Kamil Khosoon village, in January this year. Around six hundred people attended the festival. Representatives from from Community Based organizations (CBOs), farmer Field School Members and community women, trained in kitchen gardening and nutrition, participated took part in the festival.

Organizations working in the area, including Arche Nova, Plan International, National Rural Support Program (NRSP), SEEWA Pak, Participatory Village Development Programme (PVDP), President’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) and Local Support Organization Meharn, had held stalls at the festival as well. The stalls displayed local handicrafts and pictorial presentations reflecting project activities. Models on Key Hole Kitchen Gardening and Biological Pests Control were also on display. Local women held stalls selling the fresh vegetables grown in their kitchen gardens. Community members shared their experiences and learnings in sustainable agriculture while working under the project with visitors at the festival.

Government and Line department officials including Assistant Director Social Welfare Badin, Agriculture Officers’ from Agriculture Extension department of Badin and Deputy Director Water Management Hyderabad appreciated the efforts of the farmers and their hard work in the fields.  Local government officials, including Vice Chairman UC Khairpur, Vice Chairman UC Saman Sarkar, Ex-Taluka Nazim Tando Bagho and progressive farmers from local nearby villages also attended the festival.

An interactive theater play was performed by Perbhat, a local theater group, focusing on “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Practices to Improve Food Security and Livelihoods local farmers”. Mir Kaloi, a local poet and radio presenter, played a folk song and a group of rural women,Prem Nagar, sang a song on social development as the fun-filled festival.

The festival provided a platform for local farmers and government officials to interact directly with each other. The farmers communicated their problems and challenges faced during agricultural activities while people representatives of the line department recommended possible mitigation measures to them. The Agriculture, Irrigation and Social Development departments shared informative details about their departments and the subsidies they are providing to small-scale farmers.

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Remote and rural areas affected by recurrent natural disasters often suffer the most when it comes to their recovery, rehabilitation and development. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake epicentered in the Hindu Kush range in winter of 2015 severely shook Pakistan’s mountainous northern belt, killing nearly three hundred people. In its aftermath, more than 14,000 houses were severely damaged or completely destroyed; community infrastructure was unusable and livelihoods were diminished.  Almost a year later, the poor socio-economic life of the inhabitants remained largely unchanged.

High altitude villages perched on the steep mountain slopes of district Shangla in northern Pakistan were severely damaged by the earthquake. One of the hardest hit areas was Village Tanshit; mainly comprised of steep, rocky terrain dotted with 221 traditional, rural homestead compounds. Multiple families reside in each compound. After the earthquake, the community’s most basic infrastructure and facilities, which had been built with great effort and years of savings, were lost. The village’s sole water supply scheme became one of the earthquake’s most significant casualties.

For the next nine months after the earthquake, the local women had to make a forty five minute climb on foot to a mountain stream and return with as much water as they could carry everyday. Families living in mountain village compounds have strong traditional, social and cultural codes for the protection of women, even for those undertaking daily domestic responsibilities.  This usually means that the women stay very close to their homes.  However, to access water, the women of Tanshit had to travel a long distance carrying water on their heads through wild and rocky mountain treks.  As the water carried by a single person was insufficient for the entire family’s needs, sometimes the children were tasked with carrying water from the streams on their way back from school. This was dangerous and had to be done in daylight. In warmer months, these communities became very vulnerable to waterborne diseases as hygiene could not be maintained while carrying and storing this stream water.

“Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are crucial for poverty reduction, crucial for sustainable development and crucial for achieving any and every one of the Millennium Development Goals,” Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General

The human right to water and to sanitation constitutes the right of every individual, without discrimination, to sufficient, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable water and sanitation for personal use. To ensure this right, in 2016 Community World Service Asia, in partnership with Norwegian Church Aid and ECHO, assessed the village Tanshit’s water system and was selected as one of the twenty communities under its’ integrated WASH, Shelter and Cash-for-Work programme.  Technical assistance, construction materials and paid labor opportunities were provided to help villagers to restore their water system, reconstruct latrines and bathing facilities, and repair their homes.  A village WASH Committees was formed to articulate the basic communal needs according to the project’s objectives and scope.

The project team arranged hygiene sessions with the village women’s group and sensitized them on hygienic practices through Child Hygiene and Sanitation Training (CHAST) and Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) approaches. A pre-KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices) survey was also conducted to gauge the pre-existing or baseline hygienic practices of the families and to help demonstrate subsequent gains.

To ensure ownership, each village’s drinking water supply scheme was selected on the recommendation of village committees. After a technical feasibility assessment conducted by members of Community World Service Asia’s engineering team, Tanshit’s water supply scheme was rehabilitated, with additional resources, successfully. The water source was reconstructed, protected and pipelines were installed throughout the village.  The community contributed additional labor and materials as well to this reconstruction.

Today, Tanshit’s drinking water supply scheme supplies clean, safe and ample water to 221 households as per Sphere standards. The risk of waterborne diseases has been decreased. The social protection of women has been ensured and their cultural sensitivities are preserved. Around 1,200 individuals are undertaking more hygienic practices that will significantly contribute to maintaining healthier families. The project team also mobilized the local community towards the maintenance and upkeep of their water system through a local community savings plan.  They have also begun a small, intra-village savings and lending activity to commonly support their lowest income groups. This will enable every community member to maintain their compound’s connections to the scheme.

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photo credit: ROUF BHAT/AFP/Getty Images

At least fourteen people have reportedly died in an avalanche in Chitral’s Sher Shal area in Pakistan this Sunday. According to the Chitral Scouts Commandant, Col Nizamuddin Shah, bodies of fourteen people, including women and children, have been recovered from the debris so far. He added that twenty-five houses have been buried under the snow and five have been totally destroyed.

The same region has been hit by heavy snowfall, reaching as deep as four feet in some areas.

A Frontier Constabulary soldier has also died and six others have been injured when a Chitral scout post was directly hit by a second avalanche in Chitral’s Pishotan area near the Pak-Afghan border. The injured soldiers were rescued early morning, announced ISPR.

“There is no way to rush the injured persons to the Chitral hospital [either] because all roads in the valley have been blocked due to heavy snowfall, while evacuation operations were also delayed by the weather” Chitral Deputy Commissioner Shahab Hameed Yousafzai shared.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has activated the National Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate rescue and relief efforts in the avalanche-hit area.

Community World Service Asia is in contact with Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and local partners in the area and will devise its response strategy, should there be any need of emergency response.

Contacts:

Karen Janjua
Senior Advisor
Regional Programs and Resource Mobilization
Email: karen.janjua@communitryworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 51 5496532

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources: www.dawn.com

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